Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Batteries: Research

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what the criteria are for the provision of grants under the Faraday Battery Challenge, established under the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, for the development and production of battery technology; and, in particular, what emphasis is given, if any, in those criteria, to the improvement of environmental and working conditions in those regions involved in the mining and production of lithium and other battery components, bothnow and in the future.

lord henley: The Faraday Battery Challenge is a competitive fund delivered coherently by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Innovate UK and the Advanced Propulsion Centre, joining up the stages of technology development from fundamental research, through innovation to industrial scale-up. Its focus is on the development of new and improved battery technology to address the challenges of future electric vehicles and other applications. The scope of the programme includes the environmental challenges of longer first life, recyclability and reuse of batteries. Upstream issues such as mining are out of scope of the programme.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Ethiopia: Political Prisoners

lord ahmed: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will encourage the government of Ethiopia to free political prisoners.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We welcome the recent announcement by the Ethiopian Prime Minister on reforms to open up political dialogue, including the planned release of some imprisoned politicians. The British Government is in close contact with the Ethiopian authorities to seek more information on what this will mean in practice, including for British nationals currently imprisoned in Ethiopia. The UK has repeatedly raised human rights concerns with the Ethiopian government, including around the arrest and imprisonment of people for their political views.

Department of Health and Social Care

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

lord colwyn: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 20 December 2017 (HL3994), what was the total number of fines issued for incorrectly claiming an exemption on NHS dental fees in the first six months of 2017–18.

lord o'shaughnessy: The NHS Business Services Authority reports that a total of 217,539 fines were issued to patients on the grounds of incorrectly claiming an exemption from NHS Dental Patient Charges in the first six months of 2017–18.

Radioisotopes

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements are currently in place forensuring (1) the safety and quality of medical isotopes used by the NHS when they leave production centres in mainland Europe, and (2) the safe handling of such isotopes following arrival in the UK; and what role Euratom plays in delivering those arrangements.

lord o'shaughnessy: Radio pharmaceuticals (medical isotopes) used for diagnostic procedures are human medicines and are the subject of European medicines regulations which sets out a licensing regime and includes controls on the quality of materials used and processes followed during manufacture and the way they are distributed within Europe. In the United Kingdom, human medicines are subject to national human medicines legislation which transposes the requirements of the European regulatory regime. As a form of radioactive material, medical radioisotopes are covered by the European atomic energy community (Euratom) Treaty framework. However, they are not classified as special fissile material so they are not covered by the safeguards provisions of that Treaty. The use and disposal of medical radioisotopes are governed by a set of standards established in domestic legislation (and regulated by domestic regulators) that have in some cases been informed by Euratom standards. The UK already has robust, domestic regimes in place for the safety, security, transport, use and disposal of nuclear and radioactive materials – including medical radioisotopes – throughout their lifecycle. These regimes will remain in place as the UK leaves Euratom, ensuring we exit with certainty, clarity and control. In addition, relevant Euratom and European Union safety and transport legislation Directives have already been, or are in the process of being, transposed into UK law before the UK’s withdrawal. The EU Withdrawal Bill will convert all European law, including that made under the Euratom Treaty, as it stands at the moment of exit into UK law.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade

baroness kramer: To ask Her Majesty's Government with which companies they have strategic relations; and, in each case, who is the designated Minister.

baroness fairhead: There are currently 83 companies on the Strategic Relationship Management programme, they are listed in the table below. In light of the recent reorganisation of ministerial responsibility, the Department for International Trade is currently refreshing the allocation of contact ministers across government.These will be updated online shortly.Company3MABB (Asea Brown Boveri)Airbus GroupAmazon.comApple IncAssociated British Foods (AB Foods)Associated British PortsAstraZenecaBabcock International GroupBAE SystemsBalfour BeattyBASFBayerische Motoren Werke (BMW)BombardierBouyguesBritish Petroleum (BP)British Telecom (BT)CaterpillarCentricaCisco SystemsCoca-ColaDiageoDubai WorldE.OnEisaiElectricite de France (EDF)Engie (GDF SUEZ) (Gaz de France)FacebookFordGeneral Electric (GE)GKNGlaxoSmithKline (GSK)Google (Alphabet Inc)Hewlett-Packard (HP)HitachiHondaHP EnterpriseHuawei TechnologiesHutchison WhampoaIberdrola (Scottish Power)IBMImagination TechnologiesIneosJaguar Land RoverJCBJohnson & JohnsonJohnson MattheyLockheed MartinMicrosoftMitsubishi CorporationMitsubishi Heavy IndustriesMondelez InternationalNational Grid PlcNestleNissanNovartisPCCWPearsonPepsiCoPfizerProcter & Gamble (P&G)PSARoche GroupRolls-Royce Group plcRoyal Dutch Shell PlcRWESage GroupSamsungSaudi Basic Industries (SABIC)Scottish & Southern EnergySiemensSNC-Lavalin Group (Atkins)SoftbankStatoilSyngentaTata GroupTelefonicaTime WarnerToshibaToyota MotorUnileverVodafoneWalt Disney

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Youth Services

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ashton of Hyde on 8 January (HL4167), which youth programmes the £475 million is to be spent on.

lord ashton of hyde: The Office for Civil Society (DCMS, formerly Cabinet Office) has spent over £475m on youth programmes and supporting youth service delivery between 2014/15 and 2016/17 - the first full financial year that youth policy sat in these departments to the last completed financial year. This included: National Citizen Service; the Youth Investment Fund; the #iwill and other youth social action Funds; the annual grant to the British Youth Council; the Centre for Youth Impact; and the Delivering Differently for Young People programme.

Department of Health

Mefloquine

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord O'Shaughnessy on 22 December 2017 (HL4314), whether they consider suicide, as listed in the current mefloquine product information as a psychiatric adverse reaction, to be a permanent adverse reaction.

lord o'shaughnessy: Feeling suicidal, or the risk of suicide, would not be considered to be permanent adverse reactions.Mefloquine is effective in the prevention and treatment of malaria and is approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which regulates medication in the United Kingdom. As with all medicines, the MHRA keeps the safety of mefloquine under continual review. Mefloquine continues to be recommended as a safe and effective form of malaria prevention by the Advisory Committee on Malaria Prevention, the World Health Organization and other respected organisations who take account of the body of global evidence.

Levonorgestrel: Prices

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to investigate the pricing oflevonorgestrel by pharmacies.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Department does not control prices of medicines sold at pharmacies without a prescription. Emergency hormonal contraception is however available free of charge on the National Health Service.

Women and Equalities

UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether theyintend tonominate any UK women for vacancies arising in 2018 on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government is currently considering whether to nominate a UK candidate for vacancies arising on the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women later this year.